Quite honestly, I'm confused. With the world spinning harder and faster toward escalation in international conflict, even the possibility of outright nuclear war, why is it that we are being bombarded by so many distractions? TV actors posing as journalists, FCC prudes, gamers going to war, commercials gallor, and all the while real problems exist globally...beyond the one that God's gift W is creating...but I'll mention some of those, too...
Last night, on the Daily Show, besides an interview with Woody Harrelson that fell apart, Jon Stewart took a shot at CNN actor playing journalist (also know as an "anchorman") Rick Sanchez. Stewart played a clip of a recent Sanchez's interview with Titanic researcher Ballard and, overcoming the painful urge to say, "So fucking what, it sank...it is a ship wreck at the bottom of the Atlantic. We learned from their mistake; now, quit gawking..." (at least that's what I would say), focused on the "grilling" he gave Ballard. (Really, he was just making an ass of himself by asking questions which everyone knew.) Stewart's response to the clip was "Yes, that's Rick Sanchez, asking the tough questions that the Taft Administration doesn't have the balls to ask..." (Stewart's emphasis) Apparently, Sanchez didn't get the point. Instead of admitting that he was covering a soft story that had little to no relevance to modernity, especially considering global current events, today on CNN, Sanchez instead took the criticism as an honor, like Ashton Kutcher had just "punk'd" him. He said that being criticized by Jon Stewart is becoming a "status symbol" in their field. This isn't that surprising considering the reaction that Stewart got when he was trying to explain to other CNN hosts that he should not be held to the same professional standards as a self-declared "real" journalist because, simply put, the show that airs before his is "puppets making prank phone calls." Unfortunately, Sanchez must have missed Jon on CSPAN's American Perspectives.
Not all distractions are bad distractions. Sports, for example, have the phenomenal capacity to unite people in healthy, good-spirited competition and camaraderie, at their best. Yes, professional sports have TONS of ethical issues to work out, namely players getting paid as much (if not more) than doctors (not to mention way more than teachers) while other people work and still starve, questions about what are legitimate technological alterations to the human body (ie use of drugs), and other such questions. This year, since I'm unable to watch my Philadelphia Flyers play like champs until play-offs come and they turn into a bunch of bums, since players like Mr Hockey, who'll play for the love of the game and a sweater, no longer exist, I've relied more heavily than past years on the NFL, and thus the Eagles. Now, as distractions, TO's antics aren't that big of a deal. Thus far, he's backed it up on the field, giving a good balance to McNab. Unfortunately, however, in the wake of "Nipple Gate" and the reelection of President Bush based on the "moral" vote, Monday's game between an electric Eagels and an unusually lack-luster Cowboys was overshadowed by a pre-game skit. Instead of talking about the 14 second scramble play that ended with a 60yrd completion to Mitchell and the 49-21 shallacking of Parcell's Cowboys (how often do the Cowboys get nearly 50 points scored on them? or a Parcell team, for that matter?), it was the pregame ABC skit with Owens and Desperate Housewives star Sheridan. Strange how that show, which has high ratings and even more suggestive material is still on the air...but obviously football, in all its beer-loving glory, is a family sport, even though MNF games don't end until after midnight... Another strange fact, with all this morality floating about, how is it that music videos directed at black youth have the most sexual content, even though the black community has the misfortune of having the highest infection rate for HIV? Some things seem just off....
Some distractions...well, the word "evil" shouldn't be thrown around litely, but... It feels like the people who work in advertisement watched Bladerunner and Max Headroom and other such post-apocalyptic entertainment (specifically those creepy scenes with all the televisions blaring commercials 24 hours a day) and said, "hmmm....that'$ brilliant!" First, in response to "Christmas" commercials starting earlier and earlier, is it really that necessary? Capitalists have already staked a claim on the Friday after Thanksgiving...now, it's called "Black Friday." There's a reason for that; the first shopping day when everyone crams into the stores so that parents and grandparents can duke it out to be the ones leaving the store with the new action figure or video game (and if you're wondering what to get your proud little soldier, look no further than dear-old modern day Kipling, former insurance salesman Tom Clancy and his Ghost Recon2; or if you like adding in moral ambiguity and conflict between loyalty to state and humanity, you may want to check out Shellshock Nam 67). Of course in order to leave the store with a clear conscience, you'll have to nevermind that the others leave with black eyes and the sad understanding that they will return home, not only defeated and bruised and battered, but to a home filled with little savages waiting to roast them over an open fire until they're deliciously meat falling off the bone done, and their bones will be saved and used to prepare a lovely stock to be used for the stew made with the left-overs... It's a great American tradition. But that's not enough for the Money Machine...nope, they need them to be whipped into a real frenzy... Hopped-up on all sorts of crazy pills...And thanks to the acid-freaks turned capitalists at ETrade (well, really the poor bastards who were too young to be hippies who decided to become yuppies, unless of course they're converted hippies, captured and tortured by the capitalists until they squealed and pledged allegiance to the dollar), jack and jill American can afford to spend and spend and spend on delightful trinkets to give vicariously to the baby Jesus, through their children...and if they happen to not have a job and are at risk of being over-run by angry Huns, that's okay, because money does grow on trees and all they have to do is access lendingtree.com and shake and promise to be indentured servants to some 9-5 for the remainder of their adult lives, before they again wear diapers and are left, ignored by resentful children whose only inheritance is debt. But with a new television that has the "picture quality of movie theater film," they can always just change the channel to wife-swappers and other mind-numbing crap. Joy to the world, it's getting to that wonderful time of year when all the ghouls and goblins put away their costumes in exchange for ones of piety. Happy Chrismahanukwanzika...
And speaking of piety... we all may need some religion, considering some of the changes in government and elsewhere...So, our celebrity-lust has granted us with more personal information about Condi Rice's anatomy than I'd care to know...though I bet she was hot in those ice skating outfits...brrrr...the CIA's cleaning house and Specter gets back on board...so good Christian friends rejoice...and onward Christian soldiers to reclaim the Holy Land's oil...in Christ's name, of course...nevermind the oxymoronic nature of that thought...And just think, if we amend the constitution for the presinator, we'll be able to have a president that's a professional at script reading. (In all seriousness, I'd be for the amendment, if our border policy was also changed and if wide-sweeping campaign finance reform made it so that average US citizens could run for office. More democracy takes power away from the Executive Branch.) Just imagine the joy that Karl Rove would feel if he was given that gift for the Winter Solstice Celebration.
And in international news, the international community overlooks the death of half a million people to pat each other on the back because the Sudanese government and rebel forces have promised to end fighting by January...nope, no more death and degredation there...And what's to be said about the mess of Iraq? What can't be said about the mess in Iraq? Security? Nope. Human rights being protected? Eh... An end to the senseless death of human beings? Surely not... Free and fair elections by the January deadline? Of course they were joking when they said January of 2005... But troops have control of the insurgence in Falluja, where civilians come out waving white flags so that they're not shot...let freedom ring. Meanwhile in Iran, uncertainty could leave one guessing what time the retired "Doomsday Clock" would show. Israel claims that Iran is steady at work building the bomb and is a threat to their national security, claims which do have some international credibility. The Israelis have been pushing for UN actions against Iran, saying that the international community has a two year grace period before the situation becomes irrevicable. The US and the EU are calling on Iran to stop all of its enrichment activities. Given the fact that no action has been taken against North Korea, as of yet, it remains to be seen how effective any threats will be. Granted, there is the chance that Iran could be developing civilian power plants, a possibility which South Africa and Brazil have tried to support. Though, in spite of this possibility, Israel does have a history of attacking nuclear sites, and given the fact that the preemptive precedence has been set and Israel is a suspected nuclear power, there'll be more speculation to come...
At least Kashmir is quiet, for now... And, what ever happened to North Korea?
APEC is meeting in Chile and complaints are being made about the weak US dollar, and yet still, there is anger at the imperialistic tendencies of a sole super-power... If I could speak to the entire world, well, specifically those people involved with nation-states, I'd tell them to quit attacking the US for being a super-power, and then expect the US to fix all of the world's problems... Simple solution, quit supporting archaic power-structures and start working together as a unified global community. (And it really is simple, it just has to be done. Now it will take hard work and dilegence, but it can be done. Just stop having wars, damnit.)
And beyond these absurd problems which we have created, there is still starvation, disease, and poverty; but these, aparently, matter not.
I guess hiding out in a hidden mountain ranch safely sedated and writing weak Hollywood name-dropping "commentary" doesn't sound like that bad of idea...at least it's better than being a ex-pat hiding out with your girlfriend on the Riviera...muhalo
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